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Published on: August 7, 2017
Cytokine production differs in children and adults
1Department of Immunology, The Medical School, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom.
Insights
Healthy children show altered cytokine production compared to adults, with lower levels of key immune signaling molecules. This may contribute to their increased susceptibility to infections.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Children's susceptibility to infections is known but poorly understood.
- Cytokine production is vital for effective immune responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate antigen and mitogen-induced cytokine production in healthy children.
- To compare cytokine profiles in children versus adults.
Main Methods:
- Assessed production of Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), Interleukin-4 (IL-4), and Interleukin-6 (IL-6).
- Stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with mitogens and specific antigens.
- Compared cytokine levels between healthy children and adults.
Main Results:
- Children produced significantly lower levels of IL-2, IFN-γ, IL-4, and IL-6 upon maximal mitogen stimulation compared to adults.
- Antigen stimulation showed lower median levels of IL-2 and IL-4 in children.
- Children exhibited increased, though not statistically significant, levels of IL-6 and IFN-γ upon antigen stimulation.
Conclusions:
- Healthy children exhibit distinct and generally reduced cytokine production compared to adults.
- Altered cytokine profiles in children may lead to suboptimal immune responses.
- This immune dysregulation could be a factor in increased childhood infection rates.
Abstract:
The susceptibility of normal, healthy children to infection has long been recognized, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. As adequate cytokine production is crucial for optimal immune responses, we assessed antigen and mitogen-induced cytokine production in healthy children. Our results demonstrate that healthy children differ markedly compared with adults in their ability to produce cytokines (IL-2, interferon-gamma, IL-4, and IL-6). Maximal stimulation with mitogen demonstrated impaired cytokine production with markedly lower levels of all four cytokines produced compared with adult levels. When stimulated with antigens, median levels of IL-2 and IL-4 remained lower than adult values, IL-6 production was increased as was interferon-gamma, albeit not significantly. Although the study was carried out on peripheral blood mononuclear cells that represent a restricted compartment of the immune system, these data suggest that, in healthy children, cytokine production is decreased and/or altered and could result in a suboptimal immune response, which could be one of the factors underlying increased susceptibility to infection in children.
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